Closure latch



W. DALE CLOSURE LATCH June 18, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1966INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY June 18, 1968 w. DALE 3,388,940

CLOSURE LATCH Filed Nov. 8, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet z y Z v g 76 g .70 7 2"TEL 1 I:

' I N VENTOR.

Y .Y ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,388,?49 CLOSURE LATCH Walter Dale,Utira, Mich, assignor to General Motors Qorporation, Detroit, Mich, acorporation ot Delaware Filed Nov. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 592,854 3 filaims.(Cl. 292216) This invention relates to closure latches and moreparticularly to vehicle body door locks.

A primary feature of this invention is that it provides an improvedvehicle body door lock including latch means, detent means for the latchmeans and means including a transmitting member coupled at all times tothe detent means for movement of one upon movement of the other andbeing independently movable to locked and unlocked positions wherein thetransmitting member selectively and alternately disconnects and connectsoperator controlled actuating means and the detent means. Anotherfeature of the invention is that the transmitting member is bodilymovable independently of the detent means and pivotally movable with thedetent means in locked and unlocked positions to either move the detentmeans or be moved by the detent means. A further feature of theinvention is that the means coupling the transmitting member to thedetent means furnish the connecting means between the operatorcontrolled actuating means and the transmitting member when thetransmitting member is in unlocked position. Yet another feature of thisinvention is that the transmitting member is bodily movable between itspositions by a locking lever which is movable between locked andunlocked positions, with the locking lever pivotally supporting thetransmitting member.

These and other features of the door lock of this invention will bereadily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial side elevational view of a vehicle body embodyinga door lock according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partially broken away perspective view of the lock showingthe locking lever and transmitting member in unlocked position;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partially broken away view of a portion ofFIGURE 1 showing the locking lever and transmitting member in lockedposition and the detent means in released position;

FIGURE 4 is a partially broken away view taken generally along the planeindicated by line 44 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 55of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the transmitting memberand locking member in locked position and the detent means in holdingposition.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a vehicle bodydesignated generally 16 includes a front door 12 mounted adjacent itsforward edge 14 on body It) for movement between a closed position, asshown, and an open position, not shown. The door 12 is held in closedposition by a closure latch 16 according to this invention.

As shown in FIGURES 2 through 6, the closure latch 16 includes a mainframe or plate 18 having a lateral side flange 2a. The plate 18 engagesthe inner surface of the lock pillar or end wall 22 of door 12, as shownin FIG- URES 3 through 6, and is secured thereto by a number of boltswhich extend through the wall 22 into nuts 24 welded or clinched to theplate 18. The flange is disposed adjacent the inner surface of the innerpanel 26 of door 12. As best shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, the plate 18includes an inner annular housing 23 which is formed integral with theplate. An outer housing 30 is formed separately from the plate 18 and issecured thereto by a number of lateral flanges 32 which are riveted tothe plate. The outer housing 30 extends outwardly of the wall 22 througha suitable opening 34 provided therein. The housing 30 includes a cap 36on the end wall thereof.

A latch means designated generally 38 is pivotally mounted at 4-0 on theend wall and plate 36 of the outer housing 30 and on the end wall of theinner housing 28. The latch means include an outer gear type boltportion 42 which is adapted to cooperate with a toothed portion of aconventional striker, not shown, mounted on the body pillar wall to holdthe door 12 in closed position. The latch means further include a discor plate portion 44 and an inner toothed ratchet portion 46.

An outside operating lever or member 48 is pivotally mounted at St} onthe plate 18 and is biased clockwise by a tension spring 52 which ishooked between an arm 54 of lever 48 and the upper edge of the plate 18.The lever 48 is located against the action of the spring 52 by theengagement of an edge of the lever with a lateral tab 56 of,

the plate, as shown in FIGURE 6. The lever includes a lateral tab 58which is engageable by a push rod 60, FIG- URE 3, of a conventional pushbutton assembly mounted in an outside door handle 62, FIGURE 1, securedto the outer panel of the door 12. When the push button assembly isdepressed, the rod 6t! is shifted inwardly of the body or to the left,as viewed in FIGURE 3, to swing the lever 48 counterclockwise about thepivot 50 to its position shown therein.

The lever 48 is also movable from its position of FIG URE 6 to itsposition of FIGURE 3 by an inside operating lever 64 pivotally mountedat 66 on the flange 20 of plate 18. The lever 64 includes a lateralextension 68 which overlies a lateral tab 70 of arm 54. A shiftable rod72 interconnects the lever 64 and a conventional inside remote handle74, FIGURE 1, mounted on the inner panel of door 12. Forward shittingmovement of the rod 72 swings the lever 64 clockwise, as viewed inFIGURE 3, to move the lever 48 to its position shown therein.

As best shown in FIGURE 6, a detent member 76 is also pivotally mountedon the pivot 50. The detent member is biased in a clockwise direction bya coil torsion spring 78 which surrounds the pivot 50 and has one endthereof engaging a notched lateral tab 80 of plate 18 and the other endthereof engaging a lateral tab 82 of the detent member. The detentmember includes a holding foot 84 which extends through an opening inhousing 28 into engagement with one of the tooth edges 86 of the ratchet.portion 46 under the action of the spring 78 to block clockwisemovement of the latch means 38 and thereby prevent the bolt portion frommoving relative to the toothed portion of the striker and retain thedoor in closed position.

A locking lever 88 is pivotally mounted adjacent its inner end on thepivot 40 of the latch means 38 on the end wall of the inner housing 28.A washer 90 is interposed between the locking lever and the end wall. Atab or flange 92 is struck from the end wall of the inner housing 28 andextends outwardly through a notch in the washer 90 between upper andlower legs 94 and 96 at the inner end of the locking lever. When the leg96 engages the tab 92, as shown in FIGURE 6, the locking lever is inlocked position, and when the leg 94 engages the tab 2, as shown inFIGURES 2 and 3, the locking lever is in unlocked position.

The outer end of the locking lever includes a pair of laterallyextending legs 98 which are separated by a laterally extending aperturedtab 100. As best shown in FIG- URES 2 and 5, a coil tension spring 102interconnects the tab and an apertured lateral tab 104 of the flange 20.When the locking lever is in unlocked position as 3 shown in FIGURES 2and 3, the line of action of the spring 102 is located above the pivot40 to thereby locate the locking lever in this position by biasing theleg 94 thereof into engagement with the tab 92. Likewise, when thelocking lever is in locked position as shown in FIG- URE 6, the line ofaction of the spring 102 is below the pivot 40 to locate the lockinglever in this position by biasing the leg 96 thereof into engagementwith the tab 92.

The locking lever may be moved between its locked and unlocked positionsfrom both the inside and outside of the body 10. A conventional garnishbutton 106, FIGURE 1, is connected by a rod 108 to an apertured tab 110of the locking lever to provide the inside operating means for movingthe locking lever between its positions. The locking lever is movedbetween its positions from the outside of the body by a conventional keycylinder assembly, not shown, which includes a rotatable rod receivedbetween the legs 98 of the locking lever in a known manner.

A transmitting member 112 is pivotally mounted at 114 to the lockinglever adjacent the outer end thereof. The transmitting memberinterconnects or couples the detent member 76 and the outside operatinglever 48 when the locking lever is in unlocked position and disconnectsor uncouples the detent member and outside operating lever when thelocking lever is in locked position. The detent member 76 includes anarcuate slot 116 which is generated about the pivot 40 for a purpose tobe hereinafter described. A pin 118 extends laterally of the member 112through the slot 116. A lateral tab 120 of the transmitting memberoverlies the upper edge of the locking lever to locate the transmittingmember counterclockwise of the locking lever.

When the locking lever is in both locked and unlocked positions, thebias of the spring 78 on the detent member 76 tending to swing thismember counterclockwise of the pivot 50 acts to hold the tab 120 intoengagement with the upper edge of the locking lever by continouslybiasing the transmitting member counterclockwise of the locking lever.

When the locking lever is in unlocked position as shown in FIGURE 3, thepin 118 is located adjacent the upper end of the slot 116 and in thepath of movement of the lower leg 122 of the outside operating lever 48.Thus when the lever 48 is moved from its position shown in FIGURE 6 toits position shown in FIGURE 3, the leg 122 will pick up the pin 118 toswing the transmitting member 112 clockwise of the locking lever and inturn swing the detent 76 counterclockwise of the pin 50 from its holdingposition, shown in FIGURE 6, to its released position, shown in FIGURE3, to thereby release the latch means 38 and permit the door to beopened. This movement of the transmitting member occurs without movementof the locking lever and against the bias of the spring 78.

When the locking lever is in its locked position shown in FIGURE 6, thepin 118 is located adjacent the lower end of the slot 116. When the pinis in this position, it is located out of the path of movement of theleg 122 of lever 48 so that counterclockwise swinging movement of thelever either from the inside or the outside of the body will have noefiect on the transmitting member or the detent member.

By generating the slot 116 about the pivot 40, it can be seen that thetransmitting member 112 is bodily shiftable from its position of FIGURE3 to its position of FIGURE 6 upon movement of the locking lever fromunlocked to locked positions without moving the detent member 76.

The closure latch of this invention also includes the feature of keylesslocking. Assume that the door is in an open position and that theoperator pushes the garnish button or operates the key cylinder assemblyto move the locking lever from its unlocked position of FIGURE 2 to itslocked position of FIGURE 6. If the door is thereafter closed, the latchmeans 38 will rotate counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 6. During thismovement of the latch means, the back or cam edges 124 of the teeth ofthe ratchet portion will cam the detent member 76 counterclockwise aboutthe pivot 50. The transmitting member will, of course, move clockwiseabout the pivot 114 on the locking lever and as soon as movement of thelatch means has ceased, the spring 78 will return the detent member toits holding position, as shown in FIGURE 6, and return the transmittingmember to its normal position with respect to the locking lever. Boththe inside operating means and the outside operating means will remainuncoupled from the detent means during this movement of the door.

Thus, this invention provides an improved vehicle body door lock.

I claim:

1. A closure latch comprising, in combination, support means, latchmeans mounted on the support means for movement between latched andunlatched positions, a detent member pivotally mounted on the supportmeans for movement between holding and released positions with respectto the latch means, movement of the latch means from unlatched tolatched position moving the detent means to released position, meansbiasing said detent means to holding position, detent-operating meansmovably mounted on the support means, a motion transmitting member,means mounting said transmitting member on said support means for bodilymovement relative thereto between locked and unlocked positions andpivotal movement relative thereto in each of said positions, means onsaid transmitting member located in the path of movement of saidoperating means to couple said transmitting mem ber and operating meanswhen said transmitting member is in unlocked position and being locatedout of the path of movement of said operating means to uncouple saidtransmitting member and operating means when said transmitting member isin locked position, and means coupling said transmitting member and saiddetent means for pivotal movement of one upon pivotal movement of theother, movement of said transmitting member by said detent-operatingmeans moving said detent means to released position, said coupling meansincluding means permitting bodily movement of the transmitting member tolocked position without movement of the detent means to thereby uncouplethe operating means and the transmitting member and retain the detentmeans in holding position, movement of said detent means by said latchmeans pivotally moving said transmitting member relative to saidmounting means, said biasing means returning said detent means toholding position upon cessation of movement of said detent means by saidlatch means.

2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein the mounting means bodilyshifts the transmitting member about a fixed axis on the support meansand the coupling means includes a portion on one member receivable in anarcuate slot on the other member generated about said fixed axis.

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein the portion is mounted onthe transmitting member and provides the coupling means between thetransmitting member and the detent operating means.

4. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein the mounting means for thetransmitting member includes a locking lever rotatably mounted on thesupport means for movement between locked and unlocked positions androtatably supporting the transmitting member.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the locking lever and thetransmitting member includes means engageable with each other to limitpivotal movement of the transmitting member relative to the lockinglever and the biasing means normally holding the engageable means inengagement with each other.

6. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the latch means and thedetent-operating means are rotatably mounted on the support means, thedetent member being coaxially mounted with the detent operating meansand the locking lever being coaxially mounted with the latch means forbodily movement between locked and unlocked positions.

7. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the latch means and thedetent-operating means are rotatably mounted on the support means, thedetent member being coaxially mounted with the detent Operating meansand the locking lever bein coaxially mounted With the latch means.

8. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the latch means isrotatably mounted on the support means, the locking lever includes meansengageable with the support meansto locate the locking lever in lockedand the locking lever and the support means and exerting a line of forceon opposite sides of an axis of the latch means to selectively locatethe locking lever in locked and unlocked positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS unlocked positions, and resilientmeans interconnecting 15 RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

1. A CLOSURE LATCH COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, SUPPORT MEANS, LATCHMEANS MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORT MEANS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN LATCHED ANDUNLATCHED POSITIONS, A DETENT MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORTMEANS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN HOLDING AND RELEASED POSITIONS WITH RESPECTTO THE LATCH MEANS, MOVEMENT OF THE LATCH MEANS FROM UNLATCHED TOLATCHED POSITION MOVING THE DETENT MEANS TO RELEASED POSITION, MEANSBIASING SAID DETENT MEANS TO HOLDING POSITION, DETENT-OPERATING MEANSMOVABLY MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORT MEANS, A MOTION TRANSMITTING MEMBER,MEANS MOUNTING SAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR BODILYMOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO BETWEEN LOCKED AND UNLOCKED POSITIONS ANDPIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO IN EACH OF SAID POSITIONS, MEANS ONSAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER LOCATED IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAIDOPERATING MEANS TO COUPLE SAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER AND OPERATING MEANSTO COUPLE SAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER IS IN UNLOCKED POSITION AND BEINGLOCATED OUT OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID OPERATING MEANS TO UNCOUPLESAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER AND OPERATING MEANS WHEN SAID TRANSMITTINGMEMBER IS IN LOCKED POSITION, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID TRANSMITTINGMEMBER AND SAID DETENT MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF ONE UPON PIVOTALMOVEMENT OF THE OTHER, MOVEMENT OF SAID TRANSMITTING MEMBER BY SAIDDETENT-OPERATING MEANS MOVING SAID DETENT MEANS TO RELEASED POSITION,SAID COUPLING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS PERMITTING BODILY MOVEMENT OF THETRANSMITTING MEMBER TO LOCKED POSITION WITHOUT MOVEMENT OF THE DETENTMEANS TO THEREBY UNCOUPLE THE OPERATING MEANS AND THE TRANSMITTINGMEMBER AND RETAIN THE DETENT MEANS IN HOLDING POSITION, MOVEMENT OF SAIDDETENT MEANS BY SAID LATCH MEANS PIVOTALLY MOVING SAID TRANSMITTINGMEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID MOUNTING MEANS, SAID BIASING MEANS RETURNINGSAID DETENT MEANS TO HOLDING POSITION UPON CESSATION OF MOVEMENT OF SAIDDETENT MEANS BY SAID LATCH MEANS.